Force India honours Tendulkar, displays #masterblaster on its cars at Indian GP

Formula One team Force India honoured retiring cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar by displaying the Twitter hashtag #masterblaster on its cars at the Indian Grand Prix on Friday.

The message was prominently displayed on the noses of both Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta's cars as practice got under way at the Buddh International Circuit.

"This is just a way to honour one of India's greatest cricketers and sportsmen," a team spokesman told AFP.

"Sachin is a big F1 fan and would have loved to be here, but he is busy preparing for a first-class cricket match that starts soon."

Tendulkar, the world's highest run-maker in both Test and one-day cricket and the only batsman to score 100 international centuries, is retiring next month after playing his 200th Test.

The Mumbai star, who has often been called 'master blaster' by his legion of fans, raised the chequered flag at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in 2011.

Force India driver Adrian Sutil of Germany gets ready with the Twitter hashtag "#masterblaster" on his car during the second practice session at The Buddh International circuit in Greater Noida. AFP photo